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tri. Episode 03: Reunion, Part Three

In this episode, the gang tries
picking up the pieces and making sense of what's happening. They do
this by picking fights, crushing on each other, and light software
development.

The Read or Die TV series was notorious
for the way it blended action with slice-of-life character hijinks.
Instead of working both into each episode, it would alternate between
the two like some wild shounen-shoujo pendulum (seinen-josei might be
more accurate, but it's not as catchy). The first tri. movie follows
the same pattern, as now we return to character-building land.
However, while the first episode struggled to convince us why
everything we were seeing was important, now the kids have something
to talk about, angst over, and investigate. Not every scene is
totally necessary or totally works, but by the end of it we have a
better idea of how to feel about most of the main cast. Takeru and
Hikari will have to wait until a future movie, but I'm sure they'll
get a turn.

First thing they have to worry about is
the media's interpretation of the battle. This is where having
established events from two prior seasons comes up big. There's no
novelty or fascination over what's going on anymore. Instead, all the
general public knows is that these monsters are attacking again
and they're fed up with it. They're confused and frightened and
demanding a response from leaders. This is a natural reaction, and
likely will be a recurring theme throughout the series. It's
especially concerning, because the last time we saw that in a Digimon
series, humanity's answer was “put Kurata in charge.”

It's
also concerning because this portrayal isn't exactly wrong. While
everybody else is angry at the negative press coverage, Taichi
recognizes that people can only see what's out there, and not the
deep partnership with the Digimon or the battle between good and evil
the digidestined see. Since the Kuwagamon were merely infected, they
weren't even evil- just chaotic. It's a lot harder to be passionate
when the aim is simply to subdue rabid animals. Especially with the
level of destruction going on that Taichi is now far too aware of. He
struggles with this awareness all movie, and in the process alienates
his closest friends.

Speaking
of alienating friends, Joe spends the entire movie completely and
totally in the weeds. While Taichi struggles to reconcile the past
and the present, Joe is staring into an abyss of the future. All of
his dreams hinge on his schoolwork, and he's desperate to turn around
his bad grades. This leads him to ignore his health, his social life,
and his civic responsibilities. All of these, as Mimi points out,
would probably help him refocus his efforts and maybe see what he's
been doing wrong. But it's impossible to step away from something
that important to him, putting Joe in a special kind of personal
hell. His only break from it in the entire movie is Gomamon jumping
through his window. He really needed Gomamon jumping through his
window. Hell, everyone could use Gomamon jumping through their
windows.

While
Taichi and Joe have their characters taken to new, interesting and
dramatic extremes, Koushiro's the only one who might be stretched a
little too far. The good news is everyone loves it when Koushiro is
stretched out. This isn't TV Koushiro. This is Movie Koushiro!
Hacking military satellites, obsessing over the current crisis, and
having no clue how to act around Mimi. The little nerd apparently
discovered girls, and suddenly there's a fabulous, outgoing specimen
right next to him that he has a longstanding relationship with. It's
remarkable that all he does is blush. Cross your fingers that this is
building to some growth moment for him.

Meanwhile,
his development of a cyberspace holding cell for the Digimon is an
obviously useful way to take them out of the picture when they aren't
needed (so useful, in fact, that Savers and Xros Wars had something
similar built in to their worlds). It's ridiculous, of course, as is
his lack of awareness that everyone started ignoring his info
dumping, the fashion software he shows Takeru and his gigantic
office. Thankfully for him, ridiculous also translates to memorable.

My
Grade: A-

Loose
Data:

Even
if Mimi was planning on coming over anyway, it doesn't change the
fact that buying plane tickets on a whim would be prohibitively
expensive. Plus if this was a planned move, her family's tickets were
likely already purchased.

Looks
like Huckmon's getting into the “stand around important places
looking mysterious” game alongside Meicoomon. Jury's still out on
where exactly Meicoomon was running around on the last scene of the
night.

All
the times in Zero Two the kids were hiding the Digimon from their
parents were undone in a flash with Yuuko encouraging Agumon and
Tailmon. That was adorable, especially since Taichi and Hikari
weren't at all in an encouraging mood.

This
is our first real interaction with new girl Meiko, but it's hard to
get a real sense of her personality. Shy comes to mind, but she's
also transferring to a new school in Tokyo from Tottori- the least
populated prefecture in the country. Gotta factor in an adjustment
period.

Hey,
remember back in Xros Wars where we criticized the lack of hugging in
season one? Mimi got the memo! Mimi's just pushing everybody's
buttons perfectly and continues to stand out in this cast.

There
aren't many good Hikari moments in this movie, but Tailmon gets
plenty. Not only is she an effective Adult fighter, her taste
analysis at the restaurant is the most sophisticated of anybody at
the table. Still needs to work on passing off as a common cat though.